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R.I.P. convention truce

With two days on the road as a hurricane heads toward New Orleans, President Barack Obama is shredding the final remnants of a venerable tradition in presidential politics: Each party takes a break from campaigning during the other party’s convention.

The notion of a convention “truce” took a hit four years ago, when both Obama and Republican John McCain opted for a few campaign jaunts during the other’s party gathering.

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But such a high-profile campaign swing — the first by a sitting president during his opponent’s convention in recent history — marks a counter-programming offensive that ends what traditionalists consider a last vestige of civility in an age of nonstop partisan combat.

In addition, Vice President Joe Biden was originally scheduled to be in Tampa to contrast the Obama ticket with the Republicans — until Tropical Storm Isaac canceled the trip.

The Democrats aren’t the only ones to abandon tradition. Mitt Romney will be campaigning in battleground states during next week’s Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., his spokesman Kevin Madden said. The campaign has not said which states he will visit.

Obama spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters: “There’s ample precedent for presidents, candidates, vice presidents campaigning during the other party convention. The president campaigned four years ago. John Kerry campaigned eight years ago and there is less than 70 days left in the election, until the election, so we know we can’t cede a day or a time with voters or a time in an important state.”

But Obama’s two-day, three-state campaign swing across college campuses this week breaks tradition. It also comes as all eyes are focused on the Gulf Coast, expected to bear the brunt of Isaac, which became a hurricane on Tuesday.

In 2004, George W. Bush went to his ranch in Crawford, Texas during the Democratic National Convention, but dispatched a group of surrogates for contrast and rapid response purposes. The Bush campaign even declined to run ads during the DNC. His opponent, Kerry, did one American Legion event that he said was scheduled long before the Republican National Convention.

In 2000, Bush also retreated to Crawford during the DNC, telling reporters, “I am going to hang out, be with my wife, maybe chop a little cedar, maybe fish some of the tanks.” Al Gore stayed in North Carolina during the RNC. His wife, Tipper, said they would be watching a movie instead of the convention.

In 1996 and 1992, Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush both took vacations to Jackson, Wyo., during the RNC and DNC, respectively.

This is not to say that candidates did not send surrogates or have war rooms respond to attacks — almost all candidates from both parties sent staffers or representatives nearby to the other party’s conventions to offer rebuttals.

But the tradition came unglued in 2008, when both McCain and Obama decided to continue campaigning through the other party’s conventions. McCain did a number of small trips the week of the DNC, and announced his running mate on the Friday after the convention closed to stop any Obama “bump.”

Obama, too, had planned a campaign swing in 2008 — until Hurricane Gustav slammed into the Gulf Coast. He cut short events on the first day of the RNC to monitor the hurricane, canceled his events on the second day, and then resumed campaigning on the last two days of the RNC with events in Ohio and Pennsylvania.

There is just no plausible explanation for having accounts in Caymans, Bermuda, and Swiss when he was already running for President for the past 7 years. All while we fought two trillion dollar wars his party started and some gave treasure and their kids lives. And on top of that refusing to release PAST taxes. They just think there would be enough people to buy that crap as well as the one proposing 20% more tax cuts to himself even after paying only 13% the past years and with the cuts from 2001 having yielded net negative jobs and deficits compared to the 23million jobs and trending surpluses the 8 years before. Wake up America, replace the obstructionist Congress and we'd again be back on the path of repair as we started between 2009 and 2011 before they came back and stalled all progress.

oh, waaaaaah, teapubs! republicans, ala, rove have been changing the rules since the 1980's - first at the state level and then obviously at the national level. and they're still at it!! i LOVE this! Democrats are finally giving their own right back to them and they are whining like babies with romney and priebus as the whiner's in chief!! and GoDems2012 is right. let romney blanket the airwaves next week and make 3 campaign stops a day during the charlotte convention. it. won't. be. enough.

No one ever accused Barack Obama of having lots of couth, did they? The man does not observe civil manners, speech, actions - or the Constitution - so it is no big surprise that he chose to continue his tin-can campaigning during the GOP Convention.

If respect was something he desired, he sure is not acting in the right way to earn it.

I will be so, so happy to have this poor excuse for a US Citizen OUT OF THE WHITE HOUSE, FOR GOOD!

Maybe Samuel L. Jackson (and his "cleverly disgusted" profanity) is available to live tweet Obama's whirlwind tour during the RNC. That should be loads of fun and right on par with this administration. Sorry--I tried to like Obama. I really did.

FYI - Obama has let many, many conventions go by the wayside. If you think it will keep him in power and like him, then I'm sure it's all good.

Just remember, though: what's good for the goose is good for the gander. I do recall Democrats having conniption fits over some of the perceived "liberties" Bush took. Funny how they all look the other way for this President.

This does indicate the fight for the White House will be, on the part of Democrats, pure Chicago: tricks, threats, cheating and all that jazz.